![\"Luas\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ee161350-3fe3-4a6c-a857-b85f9a8fefc4.jpg\")
<\/p>\nStaff were informed this week that Transdev was not selected as the preferred bidder for the new Luas operations and maintenance contract, understood to be worth about \u20ac1.75bn.<\/p>\n
It is understood that a joint venture involving French transport operator Keolis has been selected as the preferred bidder to take over the service.<\/p>\n
The service has been operated by Transdev since the Luas commenced in 2004, with the new contractor due to take over later this year following the completion of procurement processes.<\/p>\n
A mandatory standstill period is now under way before the contract can be formally finalised.<\/p>\n
Siptu transport sector organiser John Murphy said workers would transfer to the incoming operator under TUPE regulations, which protect employees\u2019 existing terms and conditions when a contract changes hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a section of employees which guarantees where a new contractor takes over an existing contract, they would inherit the staff at the same terms and conditions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Murphy said that while a new operator may choose to run the service in a different way, significant changes affecting pay or employment security are not expected.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe new contractors may decide they want to operate in a slightly different fashion. So there may be some issues there, but we don\u2019t expect the issues to be matters related to pay and security of employment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Luas<\/p>\n
Today’s News in 90 – Friday February 27 <\/p>\n
He added that any potential changes were more likely to relate to day-to-day operational matters rather than core employment rights.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou might have rostering issues, day-to-day issues, but not significant changes we are not expecting,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The transfer of operations is not expected to take place until September, with the incoming contractor required to consult with staff and union representatives in advance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe incoming contractor are obliged to at least 30 days in advance consult with the staff and their representatives,\u201d Mr Murphy said, adding that engagement could begin sooner but may not take place until later in the summer.<\/p>\n
He said the announcement had come as a shock to many workers, given the length of time the current operator has run the Luas network.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe staff themselves, including the management, are a bit shocked because the same company in different formats have been operating the Luas since it commenced,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo there will be a level of uncertainty from staff thinking what\u2019s going to happen, is there going to be changes?\u201d<\/p>\n
However, he said day-to-day operations were continuing as normal while the procurement process runs its course.<\/p>\n
Mr Murphy noted that such contract changes are not unusual in the public transport sector, where large multinational operators regularly compete for major service tenders.<\/p>\n
\u201cTransdev and Keolis are huge multinational transport providers operating all around the world. This happens from time to time. They bid on similar contracts and sometimes one is successful and the other is not,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added that any management changes are unlikely to be immediate, with continuity expected in the short term as the new operator assumes control of the service.<\/p>\n
The National Transport Authority, Transdev and Keolis have been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Staff were informed this week that Transdev was not selected as the preferred bidder for the new Luas…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":321533,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,615,61,60,14350,3478],"class_list":["post-321532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-dublin","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-luas","tag-sarah-burke"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=321532"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321532\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/321533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=321532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=321532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=321532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}